Computer Hope
Hardware => Hardware => Topic started by: bauer17 on February 24, 2010, 10:59:48 AM
-
I am having an issue with a computer I have been using without any problems. I had it unplugged for a few months and went to boot it up. Now it will only boot up or turn on (fans spinning, hard drive boots up) if I remove the CMOS battery and put it back in. I can do a system restart from there and it will restart with no problem. But if I do a shutdown of "turn off" as windows calls it the system will not start up unless I pull the CMOS battery out again and replace it, then it boots up fine, with a message that the CMOS battery has been removed of course.
Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks for your help in advance.
-
Did you check or replace the battery?
-
i have not done either how would you check that battery? This is the original battery.
-
If you have a voltmeter, a good battery will measure 3.0VDC. If not, get a new battery, most likely a CR-2032 available in any drug store.
-
I checked with a meter and it was hovering right around 3 Volts.
-
Post your hardware specs... List ALL devices installed on your computer..
I'm thinking that when your computer is boots up (with a clean slate in CMOS RAM) it updates the hardware in the cmos inventory with the current hardware on your system, but one of those hardware components may be faulty so it interferes with the boot process. Therefore when you clear cmos, that faulty hardware is not interfering and lets you boot..
-
1 Dvd-Rw
1 80 gig hard drive - Has Windows XP on it
2 200GB drives running raid
I know the hard drives are working fine because I am able to access them all. The DVD-RW also shows up in the filesystem through windows explorer (start -> explore)
Let me know if you need any additional information.
-
Just for clarification... when you do not remove the CMOS battery, how far does it get into the boot process? Is there any indication of power?
-
I think he said it won't turn on at all, but let's hear it from him. Please also supply make and model number of this computer.
Edit:
Are you doing a Shutdown or Standby?
Try a Full Reset: http://www.dewassoc.com/support/bios/bios_password.htm
-
yes we need more input 8)
-
Thanks everyone for the input. The make is a custom build but the specs are intel D945GNT Motherboard , pentium 4 processor, 1GB crucial memory. Let me know if you need me to be more specific than that. Again this machine ran for a year or 2 fine, and then I had it unplugged for about a year or so. I would boot it up every few months or so to do some things on it but this problem just recently started when I tried to boot it up yesterday.
For the other questions If I DO NOT remove the cmos battery it does not even boot up, turn on, ect. The fans do not spin hard drives don't boot ect.
Once I do boot up after removing the cmos battery everything runs normally until I do a system shutdown. Then I have to remove the cmos battery again and then I can get it to boot back up. If I only do a system restart it will restart as normally and restart and reboot normally.
-
I'm missing something:
1. Remove battery to start up.
2. Perform shutdown.
3. Remove battery again to start up.
At what point is the battery installed?
-
I think he means that he puts the cmos battery back in, immediately after he removes it... otherwise there would be no CMOS battery to take out next time he tried to power on the computer ;D
-
After reading you post there is still something not clear.
Do you mean:
A. You remove the battery, put it back and it boots fine first time. After power off and power on it does not boot up next time. You have tried this several times. Like ten times. Every time it will boot right only the first time after you reset the CMOS the normal way.
- OR -
B. You remove battery, leave it out, it boot s up. You power off, battery still out. you power on again and it boots up. You can boot again and again whale the battery is out and it always works. You tried this several times. Like t en times.
Yes, ten times. unless you have perfect concentration, no distractions and a photographic memory, two or three times is not enough when doing tough nut diagnostics. Do you make lab notes? Please don't take offense, just asking.
If you can answer this, someone here will know what is going on.
-
So he's putting the battery back in while the computer is ON?
He says the battery reads 3V, but given the load shown below, I'll bet it drops below 3.0 when installed. For $3-4, try a new battery.
Intel® Desktop Board, D945GNT, Technical Product Specification
1.5.4 Real-Time Clock, CMOS SRAM, and Battery
A coin-cell battery (CR2032) powers the real-time clock and CMOS memory. When the computer
is not plugged into a wall socket, the battery has an estimated life of three years. When the
computer is plugged in, the standby current from the power supply extends the life of the battery.
The clock is accurate to ± 13 minutes/year at 25 ºC with 3.3 VSB applied.
NOTE
If the battery and AC power fail, custom defaults, if previously saved, will be loaded into CMOS
RAM at power-on.
-
geek-9pm.
Option A.
I remove the CMOS battery for about 30 sec replace the same one back in and it boots up. Then I do a shutdown and try to power up the machine again. Does not work. I then take out the CMOS battery again, for about 30 seconds, they place it back in plug the power cord back in and it boots up.
I hope this helps.
-
It's the battery, get a new one.
-
Does it look like this?
(http://ramanathan.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/cmos_battery1.jpg)\
-
geek-9pm. Yes it does look like that.
I did go buy a new battery and put it in. It booted up. Then I did a shutdown, and tried to start the computer back up and it had that same problem and did not start up.
-
Can you please give us the name and model of this machine?
Did this PC ever display some problem in the past? Like resetting for no reason?
About how many hours have you logged on this computer recently?
Have you tried leaving it one for 24 huts end see how it behaves? (But not connected to the internet.)
-
1. Can you please give us the name and model of this machine?
2. Did this PC ever display some problem in the past? Like resetting for no reason?
...
1. See Reply #10
2. See Original Post
-
any other ideas?
-
1) Remove the battery.
2) Place the jumper in the reset position.
3) Place the jumper in the normal postion.
4) Install the battery.
If it still doesn't work, start unplugging or removing all hardware, except the CPU, RAM. Also, unplug the RAM module and reinstall it, thereby wiping the contacts and insuring a good connection. It should power on with nothing more than a CPU & RAM.
Your goal is not to boot Windows, but to power on and enter the BIOS every time with the CMOS battery installed.
-
Hi everyone, not exactly sure what happened but I pulled the connecting internal headers and replaced them, now it is booting up fine. Very strange. Thanks for all your help! Would you do a BIOS update or just leave it?
-
Hi everyone, not exactly sure what happened but I pulled the connecting internal headers and replaced them, now it is booting up fine. Very strange. Thanks for all your help! Would you do a BIOS update or just leave it?
What is "connecting internal headers"?
As to updating the BIOS, some say don't do it unless necessary, others like to have the latest version.
-
What is "connecting internal headers"?
yes, bauer17.........do tell !
-
Well it's not a flat battery problem, so the only other reason is removing that battery resets the CMOS and BIOS.
First of all, does your computer make any beeping sound? If so, check the motherboard book. Different beeps mean different things depending on the type of motherboard. For example: 10 short beeps means CMOS shutdown Read/Write error
http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm (http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm)
It could be a power supply issue, not getting enough power to components like a power hungry graphics card, or hardware failure, or infection of a CMOS/BIOS virus.
If your computer BIOS is infected with a virus, it would be cleared out on removing the battery but reinfecting it on shutdown. Scan your computer with a quality anti-virus scanner like Kaspersky.
-
What is "connecting internal headers"?
As to updating the BIOS, some say don't do it unless necessary, others like to have the latest version.
the front panel connections for the power-on and reset switch, case speaker, HDD lights etc. Thanks to everyone for all their help.
-
I had same problem with customer computer, replaced cmos battery with new still had same issue.
I then unplugged computer held down power button for 10 seconds, pulled cmos jumper then replugged in computer it powered up, then once boot finished I shutdown windows unplugged computer replaced jumper. It has worked fine ever since. If you still have issue then check motherboard manufacture website for issues with that motherboard model..
-
Wiley,
You are nine months to the day with your late observation. 8)
-
More like 5 years...
-
More like 5 years...
About the life of his CMOS battery... He ought to be back by now to ask how to replace it.
-
try changing the battery of your computer.
-
More like 5 years...
About the life of his CMOS battery... He ought to be back by now to ask how to replace it.
Surprisingly with the thousands of systems I have worked on over the last 20 years since button cell 2032's became the standard vs the barrel soldered direct to board phased out, I have seen most of the 2032's last 8 years or longer before they weaken and cause a system to act up. Only had one 2032 battery die early after the motherboard was about 2 years old in a Biostar motherboard I bought back in 2009 which started acting really strange in 2011. As well as another die when the replacement upgrade motherboard was resting on the metal panel of the case it was going to be installed into and it shorted the 2032 battery and weakened it. It drained it to about 1.84 volts instead of 3 volts. Unless its a really cheap battery they seem to last a long time, longer than 5 years from what I have seen.
-
My reference was to how old the Topic was...
-
My reference was to how old the Topic was...
Yes, and the battery should outlive this old post.
-
Whatever...